Andrew Muchineripi Soccer
Bafana Bafana fly to Luanda on Saturday with about as much relish as turkeys welcome December. I warned last week that the pride of our nation were tired and the evidence was there for all to see at Soccer City in midweek.
Perhaps the sole consolation for a squad that will lack several familiar and significant members is that the Group 4 qualifying match represents the end of our campaign for the 2000 finals.
We booked our ticket to Ghana or Nigeria next January several weeks ago in Durban and all that is at stake against the Black Antelopes is pride and where we finish on the standings.
Victory for Bafana Bafana would ensure they retain first place while a draw or defeat would present Gabon with an opportunity to overtake them provided they defeat Mauritius in neutral Reunion.
This match was switched from Curepipe because the Mauritian government has banned football activity indefinitely following seven deaths in recent violence after a top-of-the-table club fixture.
Success will not come easily for South Africa, notwithstanding the fact that Mauritius triumphed 2-0 in Luanda during February to create arguably the biggest shock of the 2000 qualifying competition.
I praise my ancestors for forbidding me to bet on football because I would have placed all my worldly possessions on Angola winning that match against a team with just one previous away win in Nations Cup qualifiers.
Angola defeated Benin 2-0 and Gabon 3-1 in other 2000 Nations Cup fixtures in Luanda and boast a good overall qualifying record at the Citadela Stadium of 14 wins and two draws in 20 outings.
The best results were 4-0 victories over Gabon and Botwana and the worst were 2-0 losses to Cte d’Ivoire and Mauritius. Notable victims of the Antelopes include Ghana, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Bad news for Hans Vonk is Angola have failed to score only three times in those 20 games while keeping a creditable 11 clean sheets, and if the Bafana Bafana attack does not show more fire than on Wednesday it will become 12.
While coach Trott Moloto talks of creating strength in depth there is clearly a rather large gap between first-choice strikers Philemon Masinga, Shaun Bartlett and Benni McCarthy and the rest.
Daniel Mudau may have finished as the leading 1998-1999 Castle Premiership scorer with 24 goals but Zimbabwe goalkeeper Mzondiwa Sibanda could have spent most of Wednesday afternoon sitting in one of the suites.
While the 1-0 triumph by a well organised and committed Zimbabwe did not surprise this humble member of the Muchineripi clan, the extent to which fatigue has set in among Bafana ranks did.
The normal reaction to the temerity of Arlington Shereni scoring (with a reasonable amount of assistance from a Mark Fish boot) would have been to hit back hard and fast and equalise.
But one radio station summed it up quite nicely when it said Bafana Bafana resembled a car with a flat battery. The players kept turning the key, but the engine would not start.
It was undoubtedly the worst performance since Moloto inherited the “hot seat” last October, with only substitute goalkeeper John Tlale entitled to a smile come the final whistle.
After more than 30 national team call-ups, the quiet, humble Sundowns man won his first cap by replacing Vonk with 15 minutes left. The long, agonising wait of John Tlale was over. Welcome to the club, big J!
This gesture by Moloto helped us forget some of the garbage that had passed as international football with no Bafana player capable of retaining possession for more than a few seconds.
Even dreadlocked midfielder Thabo Mngomeni, a consistent improver since making his debut against Angola last October, was affected by the malaise that spread through the team like wildfire.
The passing would have embarrassed first division players with Godfrey Sapula particularly disappointing and I cannot recall one quality cross from Helman Mkhalele or David Nyathi.
We are talking about basics here, not special effects, and tired or not, we who pay to sit among those who inhabit the Extra Strong section of Soccer City are entitled to something better.
I hope we see a lot more commitment in Luanda come Sunday or South Africa face the prospect of two consecutive losses to African opposition for the first time since those dark days of 1992 when four-goal hidings were the norm.